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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

#692: Carl Gallups

PPSIMMONS is – or rather was, since it was closed in April 2012 due to repeated copyright
infringements – an absolutely insane Youtube channel whose main contributor is
legendary internet kook Pastor Carl Gallups. Gallups’s contributions (and website) are generally
devoted to young earth creationism and Biblical literalism. To emphasize how
out of touch with sanity they are they also have segments about the nefarious
influence of Satan and witches, as well as birtherism (Obama is also the
anti-Christ, which would presumably entail that he is not a citizen) and global
warming denialism (AGW is a “profit-driven scam,” though it is always a little
unclear who, exactly, profits from it).

One of Gallups’s main arguments for creationism is that all scientists recognize design,
and since they recognize design in nature, young earth creationism is true and
there really is no theory of evolution
(duh!). As is typical of crackpots, all critical comments to any of their
material are quickly erased and the author blocked from further comments. Gallups
is also a supporter of the Question Evolution campaign.

Some of his arguments are presented in his book The Magic
Man in the Sky, which was duly
pimped by the WND.
The basic idea is that there’s a world of difference between someone
declaring a momentary truth, and the actual “true truth,” and he argues
forcefully that scientists “throughout history have a less-than-stellar trackrecord of accuracy,”
and therefore religion (i.e. Gallups) is correct. Among his convincing examples
is his idea (false, as it happens) that people back in the days generally
believed that the Earth was flat and “held up at the four corners by giant
elephants.” Of course, he fails to notice that such and similar ideas were hardly
adopted on the bases of scientific inquiry
but rather issued by the dogma of various religions. But you know. Apparently
WND was so convinced that they have later returned to Gallups as an expert on evolution, for instance to comment on the perceived fact that
the theory of evolution is about to collapse.

Diagnosis: More exasperatingly idiotic mindfuckery, though
Gallups is unsurprisingly a hero of WND and Conservapedia – in short, he seems
to have some impact among those who are already completely lost to reason and
accountability.

1 comment:

Carl Gallups appeared on the 10/22/16 Coast to Coast AM radio program with guest host Richard Syrett. Carl Gallups mainly talked about "Biblical Prophecy." But at one point evolution came up and Gallups proclaimed: "Evolution is not settled science."